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"Beijing"

Lupe Fiasco: "'Beijing' is like my theme song to the Power Rangers. From the onset, I was like we needed something super-energy, about a girl, and high-paced. And what was always in my mind was some Japanese-engine-cyborg kinda dude with a helmet and a tight suit driving a motorcycle doing jump kicks across the sky. My whole thing was, what would be the name of my lady superhero with the mask riding a motorcycle jump-kicking in 1979? She's the Beijing Laser Beam. I got really comfortable writing the lyrics in that manner and really throwing my all into it. I remember playing it for Ian Astbury [of The Cult] and he was blown away and was like, 'I wish I could write songs like that!'

"'Beijing' was also the introduction for the phenomenal guitar player named Chris Gelbuda. He just rips the solo. There was an old abandoned keyboard that was in the studio in the corner. I was like, 'We need some piano.' Chris went to the back of the room and started to jab the piano as hard as he could because that's the only way the sound could connect to the microphone. So you hear little pieces of piano in the background, that's Chris jamming and slamming on the piano. I'm not comparing myself to them in any way, but it was like when you watch the documentary Exile on Main Street about The Rolling Stones. You see the ridiculous stuff they had to do like putting the trumpet player in the bathroom and put this dude on the roof. I was like, 'Yo, we